Dalene Meiring
ABOUT DALENE MEIRING
Dalene is an Auckland based artist who embodies 'colour'. She literally glows with it.
Dalene's canvases have been described as rich, warm and easy on the eye. They are vivid, harmonious in form and express a rarely-found vitality. Her three main styles are landscapes, faces and abstracts. Passionate about experimentation with texture, colour and different media, she is able to produce a unique and compelling finish to these styles. She portrays the people, places and objects which link her inextricably with her surroundings. 'I try to impose a visual and emotional experience in my paintings - to remind me of a place, time or memory, although the exactness of the moment will sometimes continue to evade me.' Much of her work shows a strong link to the land of her birth - South Africa, although - having lived here for around 25 years, her New Zealand experience increasingly shows through. Certainly the warm, welcome golden palette of her canvases invites contemplation and reflection. As she describes: 'I paint for the love of expression, the passion of life and all the beauty in it'. This talented artist is able to arouse emotions and sensations, often of serenity and tranquility. Her abstract oils convey a feeling of controlled atmospheric space and a measured depth and perspective. Her enjoyment of experimentation has brought a degree of diversity across her paintings and this pleasure shows through. |
Dalene and I sat down with coffee and she talked to me about the African influence on her art. "There is such passion in Africa, passion for life. Native Africans are such passionate people, and this shows through in their art - in the colours they use. They don't have money or means to buy paint, they make art from whatever they can. They use colour in unconventional ways because they do not have tubes of paint to just pick up and use. This has great influence on my art. It has a naive slant to it. Africa is the base that will always be there - things are out of context, colours that just don't 'go together."
Dalene came to New Zealand with her husband as her first real travelling experience and just, never went back. 'But I miss Africa, you get so used to this lifestyle, to being 'safe' - it's so easy here. But I miss the passion of Africa. The people there have to struggle, this is where their passion comes from." Though the African people are a large influence, New Zealand's diverse cultural demographic is becoming more evident - "My people are changing, they are less African now, my friend has said they are looking more Polynesian."
This year has seen a change in direction for Dalene's art. 'What can I say, it's 2020. It has been a frustrating year, a year of uncertainty - we don't know if life will be the same as it was before. That is showing in my art. The rawness is back. I am using different colours, deeper colours and wider strokes with 'grunt'. This year I have wanted to draw on the walls in frustration. That is coming out in my new work."
Quay Gallery is excited to bring a variety of Dalene's pieces in different styles to our clients and look forward to representing her latest 2020 works when they are made available.
Dalene came to New Zealand with her husband as her first real travelling experience and just, never went back. 'But I miss Africa, you get so used to this lifestyle, to being 'safe' - it's so easy here. But I miss the passion of Africa. The people there have to struggle, this is where their passion comes from." Though the African people are a large influence, New Zealand's diverse cultural demographic is becoming more evident - "My people are changing, they are less African now, my friend has said they are looking more Polynesian."
This year has seen a change in direction for Dalene's art. 'What can I say, it's 2020. It has been a frustrating year, a year of uncertainty - we don't know if life will be the same as it was before. That is showing in my art. The rawness is back. I am using different colours, deeper colours and wider strokes with 'grunt'. This year I have wanted to draw on the walls in frustration. That is coming out in my new work."
Quay Gallery is excited to bring a variety of Dalene's pieces in different styles to our clients and look forward to representing her latest 2020 works when they are made available.